The White and The Black
by Surreptitious Chi X
Summary: Drabble. AU. Cao Cao x Liu Bei. Being opposites does not mean having to be enemies.


Once again, their armies had fought, Liu Bei had lost, and they faced each other as conqueror and prisoner. Cao Cao stood in the tent he had provided for the defeated general. It was furnished comfortably. He had no interest in forcing Liu Bei to suffer in squalor.

Liu Bei faced him, bowing coldly, without words.

"I trusted you before," Cao Cao finally burst out. "When I returned, I found you had given the land under your control to the enemy. How am I supposed to trust you again when all you do is betray me?"

"You didn't trust me. You only wanted to use me."

Cao Cao stepped forward and tightened his hands on Liu Bei's shoulders in frustration. "You would change nothing. You would allow chaos, corruption -"

Liu Bei shook his head sharply. "I have no interest in those things. You are the chaos. You would make family worth nothing."

"I would give everyone the opportunity to show their merit."

"People have places they need to be in. Who tends the crops if everyone aspires to be nobility?"

"The former nobles, if they have no skill for leadership."

"You are inverting our society," Liu Bei hissed.

"Because it is time for a revolution."

"The common people need stability," Liu Bei snapped. "They need you to get out of the way."

"If I assume control of all the land, then there will be united leadership," Cao Cao said. "That will create stability."

"I am the one with emperor's blood," Liu Bei said.

Cao Cao smiled. "The power is not in the throne. You may have it, if you allow me to hold control over the important matters."

"That is your balance?" Liu Bei demanded.

"I have the superior military strategy," Cao Cao said. "I have superior numbers. I have more allies. You need me. I could kill you."

"Then why don't you?"

Cao Cao stepped back, removing his hands from Liu Bei's shoulders. "Why do you continue to oppose me?"

Liu Bei flung out his hands. "You are changing everything! You are only contributing to the disintegration of the Han. What will be left when you are done?"

"A better world," Cao Cao said.

Liu Bei turned away. "Better? Disregarding our ancestors is better?"

"Every time period is different from the last," Cao Cao said. "We as a people have not stayed the same. We continue to change with time."

"Time is erosion."

"Time is progress."

They stood still, Liu Bei staring at the side of the tent and Cao Cao staring at Liu Bei's back.

Cao Cao closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around Liu Bei, pressing his head against Liu Bei's shoulder. "Xuande. Can we not strike a balance? This chaos only tears things apart further."

Liu Bei was tense. Then, finally, his body relaxed. "Mengde. You are the white and I am the black."

That was a reference to their names and their natures. Xiahou, Cao Cao's true surname, meant Summer Marquis. One of the flowers of summer, a symbol of purity and virtue, was the lotus. The lotus was a white flower. In addition, white was the color for yang, which symbolized bright, fiery masculinity. Cao Cao was very masculine in form and feature, and had the superior military strength. Liu Bei's style name, Xuande, meant Black or Mysterious Virtue. In addition, black was the color for yin, which symbolized darkess, rain, and femininity. With his pale skin and red lips, as well as his fine features, Liu Bei looked like a woman. Without military strength, he had been forced to use the shadows, to use manipulation and diplomacy in order to flee Cao Cao's might.

"That does not mean we must oppose each other," Cao Cao said softly.

"Then you must listen to me."

"I will," Cao Cao whispered in Liu Bei's ear. "I don't wish to kill you. You are a hero."

Liu Bei bowed his head. "Allow me to assume the throne as emperor. Allow me to stabilize our government. Don't change things all at once. The only true way to change is slow. People won't realize it is happening. They won't worry. They won't rebel. Let me have my way; our change will be a trickle like the stream in a garden, not a river flooding its banks."

Cao Cao squeezed him. "Promise me. Promise me there will be change."

"I swear upon my honor that change will come. Slowly."

Cao Cao gently turned him around and kissed him.

Liu Bei cupped Cao Cao's cheek and returned the kiss gently.


End file.
